JP2011149977A - Map information display device, map information display method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a map information display device for improving accessibility to point information. <P>SOLUTION: The map information display device includes: a map information storage section 11; a point information storage section 17 storing two or more pieces of point information; a hierarchical structure information-generating section 20 generating, by acquiring the relation between the point indicated by the point information and the region name of the region including the point and putting the region names together, hierarchical structure information which is the information of a hierarchical structure wherein the point indicated by the point information is a leaf node and the region name of the region including the point indicated by the point information is the node (upper node) other than the leaf node and which is the information of the hierarchical structure indicating the inclusion relationship between the point the region; a display section 22 displaying map information and displaying the region name and point information corresponding to the node included in the hierarchical structure information; and a selection receiving section 21 receiving the selection of the displayed region names. The display section 22 displays the child node of the selected region name in the hierarchical structure information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a map information display device for displaying a map.

  Conventionally, a navigation device such as a car navigation device has been used (see, for example, Patent Document 1). By using the navigation device, the route to a desired destination can be known. Some navigation apparatuses have a function of registering a destination used for route search or registering a favorite point.

JP 2009-210468 A

  In such a navigation device or the like, an improvement in accessibility to registered point information has been demanded. That is, there has been a problem that information on desired points cannot be easily accessed simply by displaying a list of information on those points. On the other hand, it is not preferable that the user himself / herself sorts and manages these pieces of information into folders and the like because complicated processing is imposed on the user.

  This invention is made | formed in the above situations, and it aims at providing the map information display apparatus etc. which can improve the accessibility to point information.

  In order to achieve the above object, a map information display device according to the present invention stores a map information storage unit that stores map information that is information relating to a map, and two or more pieces of point information that is information indicating points included in the map information. The point indicated by the point information is a leaf node by acquiring the relationship between the point information storage unit, the point indicated by the point information, and the region name that is the name of the region including the point, and collecting the region name. Hierarchical structure information in which the area name of the area including the point indicated by the point information is a node other than a leaf node (this node is referred to as “higher node”), and the hierarchical structure information indicating the inclusion relation between the point and the area The hierarchical structure information generating unit that generates the hierarchical structure information and the map information are displayed, and the region name or point information corresponding to the node included in the hierarchical structure information generated by the hierarchical structure information generating unit is displayed. And a selection receiving unit that receives selection of the area name displayed by the display unit, and the display unit includes, in the hierarchical structure information, child node information for the area name received by the selection receiving unit. To display.

  With such a configuration, the spot information can be displayed hierarchically. Therefore, the user can access the leaf spot information by selecting a region from the root side in the hierarchy of the spot information, for example, even if the number of spot information is very large, Access to information will be improved. Further, since such a hierarchical structure can be automatically constructed, no complicated processing is imposed on the user.

Further, in the map information display device according to the present invention, the display unit first displays the region name of the root node, and then displays the child node information for the root node of the region name that the selection receiving unit has received selection, When the selection of the parent node is accepted, the process of displaying the child node information for the parent node may be repeated until the point information that is the child node is displayed.
With such a configuration, it is possible to finally select the point information of the leaf node starting from the area name of the root node.

  The map information display device according to the present invention may further include a spot information receiving unit that receives the spot information and a storage unit that stores the spot information received by the spot information receiving unit in the spot information storage unit.

  With such a configuration, the spot information received by the spot information receiving unit is held in the map information display device. For example, favorite spot information registered by the user is held in the map information display device.

  Further, in the map information display device according to the present invention, a destination reception from a current position acquisition unit that acquires a current position, a destination reception unit that receives a destination, and a departure point that is the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit. A route generation unit that generates a route to a destination accepted by the unit using map information, a storage unit that accumulates point information indicating a point that is a destination accepted by the destination reception unit in a point information storage unit, The display unit may also display the route generated by the route generation unit.

  With such a configuration, the point information that is the destination accepted by the destination accepting unit is held in the map information display device. Therefore, the destination used in the route search is automatically held by the map information display device.

  The map information display device according to the present invention further includes a region information storage unit that stores region information that is information indicating a relationship between a point and a region name that is a name of a region including the point, and generates hierarchical structure information. The unit may acquire the relationship between the point indicated by the point information and the name of the region including the point by using the region information corresponding to the point indicated by the point information.

  With such a configuration, even if the location information does not include information about the area, the area name corresponding to the location information can be acquired by using the area information. Hierarchical structure information can be generated.

In the map information display device according to the present invention, the point information is information having a region name that is a name of a region including the point indicated by the point information, and the hierarchical structure information generation unit indicates the point information from the point information. You may acquire the relationship between a point and the area name which is the name of the area containing a point.
With such a configuration, it is possible to generate hierarchical structure information using the region name included in the point information.

  In the map information display device according to the present invention, the hierarchical structure information generation unit is a name of a point indicated by the point information and a name of a region including the point, and is a name of two or more regions having an inclusion relationship. Hierarchical structure information is generated so that the region name of the region that includes more point information than the lower threshold, which is the lower threshold, becomes the parent node of the leaf node. It may be a thing.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent a region name that does not include much point information from becoming an upper node in the hierarchical structure information. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation where the hierarchy is unnecessarily deep, and the accessibility to the point information is improved.

  In the map information display device according to the present invention, the hierarchical structure information generation unit is a name of a point indicated by the point information and a name of a region including the point, and is a name of two or more regions having an inclusion relationship. The hierarchical structure information is generated so that the region name of the region including the number of pieces of point information smaller than the upper limit threshold value that is the upper limit threshold value becomes the root node. May be.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent an area name including too much point information from becoming a root node in the hierarchical structure information. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation where the hierarchy is unnecessarily deep, and the accessibility to the point information is improved.

In the map information display device according to the present invention, the display unit displays a list of area names included in the hierarchical structure information, and the hierarchical structure information generation unit displays the area name included in the hierarchical structure information as the area name. Hierarchical structure information sorted by the number of pieces of point information included in the area corresponding to may be generated.
With such a configuration, the user's desired spot information can be displayed higher in the list display.

  In the map information display device according to the present invention, the display unit displays a list of area names included in the hierarchical structure information, and the point information also includes date information that is information indicating the date. Therefore, the hierarchical structure information generation unit may generate hierarchical structure information in which the spot information included in the hierarchical structure information is sorted by date information included in the spot information.

  With such a configuration, the user's desired spot information is displayed at a higher level in the list display under the assumption that the new date is likely to be the user's desired spot information. sell.

  The map information display method according to the present invention includes a map information storage unit that stores map information that is information relating to a map, and a point information storage that stores two or more pieces of point information that is information indicating points included in the map information. Map information display method that is processed using a display unit, a hierarchical structure information generation unit, a display unit, and a selection reception unit, wherein the display unit displays map information, and the hierarchical structure information generation unit includes: By acquiring the relationship between the point indicated by the point information and the region name that is the name of the region including the point, and collecting the region name, the point indicated by the point information is a leaf node and includes the point indicated by the point information Hierarchical structure information that is a hierarchical structure information that indicates the inclusion relationship between a point and a region, where the region name of the region is a node other than a leaf node (this node is referred to as “higher node”) You The hierarchical structure information generation step, the display unit displays the region name corresponding to the node included in the hierarchical structure information generated in the hierarchical structure information generation step, and the selection reception unit displays the region name display step. A selection receiving step for receiving selection of the displayed region name, and a display unit for displaying the point information for the region name for which selection has been received in the selection receiving step in the hierarchical structure information. .

  According to the map information display device and the like according to the present invention, the accessibility to point information can be improved.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the map information display apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the map information display apparatus by the embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the map information display apparatus by the embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the map information display apparatus by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the point information in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the point corresponding | compatible information in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the regional information in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the point information and area name in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the hierarchical structure information in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the hierarchical structure information in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the hierarchical structure information in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the hierarchical structure information in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the display in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the regional information in the embodiment Schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of the computer system in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of a structure of the computer system in the embodiment

  Hereinafter, a map information display device according to the present invention will be described using embodiments. In the following embodiments, components and steps denoted by the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent, and repetitive description may be omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
A map information display apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The map information display device according to the present embodiment automatically generates a hierarchical structure of area names for accessing point information.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a map information display device 1 according to this embodiment. The map information display device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a map information storage unit 11, a current position acquisition unit 12, a destination reception unit 13, a route generation unit 14, a point information reception unit 15, and a storage unit 16. , A spot information storage unit 17, a regional information storage unit 18, a reception unit 19, a hierarchical structure information generation unit 20, a selection reception unit 21, and a display unit 22. The map information display device 1 may be, for example, a car navigation device mounted on a car, or may be a mobile phone having a map display function, a navigation function, etc., and a PDA having a map display function, a navigation function, etc. (Personal Digital Assistant) or PND (Personal Navigation Device). That is, the map information display device 1 may be used in an automobile, may be used on foot or by bicycle, or may be used in other situations.

  The map information storage unit 11 stores map information that is information about the map. The map information may be map image information, for example. This image information may be raster data (bitmap data) or vector data, for example. When the image information is raster data, the map information may include image information corresponding to a plurality of scales. For example, map information may include large-scale image information, medium-scale image information, and small-scale image information for the same region. Moreover, map information shows the map divided | segmented into the tile shape, The map of various area | regions can be displayed now by combining suitably. Here, the “map” may be a topographic map, a topographic map, a geological map, a land use map, a house map, a route map, a road map, a guide map, or the like. When the map information display device 1 is a car navigation device, this map information may be a road map. When the map information display device 1 is used on foot or by bicycle, the map information may be a pedestrian or bicycle road map. Further, the map information may be capable of route search. That is, the map information may indicate the position of the road. In addition, the map information may be information that allows the user to know road attributes (for example, speed limit, main road, side road, etc.). For example, this map information may be in the KIWI format used in car navigation. In addition, the “map” may be an aerial photograph or satellite photograph in which the topography, roads, etc. can be grasped, or those in which symbols or characters are entered. In the map information, it is assumed that the correspondence between each point on the map and the coordinates (position) can be known. The coordinates may be coordinates with an origin at a certain reference point (the coordinates may be distances, for example), may be latitude / longitude, or may be information that can identify other positions. . The coordinates themselves may be included in the map information. In the present embodiment, a case where the coordinates are latitude / longitude will be described. In addition, the map information may include character information related to place names and topography such as mountains and rivers. In the map information, it may be set which is a specific direction such as north. The map information is known as a two-dimensional online map, an electronic map, etc., and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The process in which map information is memorize | stored in the map information storage part 11 is not ask | required. For example, map information may be stored in the map information storage unit 11 via a recording medium, and map information transmitted via a communication line or the like is stored in the map information storage unit 11. May be. Further, the storage in the map information storage unit 11 may be temporary storage in a RAM or the like, or may be long-term storage. The map information storage unit 11 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.).

  The current position acquisition unit 12 acquires the current position of the map information display device 1. The acquisition of the current position may be performed using, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) or an autonomous navigation device such as a gyro, and both may be used to compensate each other's drawbacks. May be. Needless to say, the acquisition method of the current position is not limited to these. For example, the current position may be acquired using a base station nearest to the mobile phone.

  The destination reception unit 13 receives a destination. This destination is a destination used in route generation in the route generation unit 14 described later. The destination may be, for example, a spot name, position information on a map (for example, latitude / longitude), an address, or information that can identify the destination. Any content is acceptable. In the present embodiment, the case where the destination is a point name will be mainly described.

  For example, the destination receiving unit 13 may receive a destination input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc.), and receives a destination transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line. Alternatively, a destination read from a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, etc.) may be received. The destination receiving unit 13 may or may not include a device for receiving (for example, a modem or a network card). In addition, the destination receiving unit 13 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.

  The route generation unit 14 generates a route from the departure point that is the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12 to the destination received by the destination reception unit 13. The route generation unit 14 uses the map information stored in the map information storage unit 11 in generating the route. The route information generated by the route generation unit 14 may be, for example, information indicating the positions of a number of points constituting the route from the start point to the end point.

  Here, a method in which the route generation unit 14 generates a route starting from the current position and ending at the destination will be briefly described. The route generation unit 14 acquires coordinates (for example, latitude and longitude) respectively corresponding to two positions of the current position and the destination, and performs a route search between the acquired two coordinates. Specifically, the route generation unit 14 usually determines a route using the map information so that the score of the route from the start point to the end point is minimized. In the route search, for example, Dijkstra method may be used, A * algorithm may be used, Bellman-Ford method may be used, Warsal-Floyd method may be used, and other algorithms may be used. Also good.

  The Dijkstra method is a method in which the shortest route is checked while calculating distances in the order of short distances radially from the starting point. The Dijkstra method is an algorithm in which the route becomes the shortest route when the destination is reached. Furthermore, in the Dijkstra method, the required memory amount and processing time increase in proportion to the number of links and nodes. Note that a node is a point on the map. The link is a line connecting the nodes (reference: Internet <URL: http://www.devnotes.net/acmicpc/dijkstra/>).

  The A * algorithm is an algorithm that efficiently solves the shortest path problem when the estimated value h * (n) of the distance from each vertex n to the goal is known. The A * algorithm is an idea in which a predicted distance is added to the Dijkstra method, and the arrival step to the destination is shorter than the Dijkstra method. Further, since the predicted distance is included in the A * algorithm, the route may not be the shortest route when the destination is reached. In addition, in the A * algorithm, priority is given to reaching the destination, and the memory capacity and processing time can be reduced (reference: Internet <URL: http: //ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/A*%E3%) 82% A2% E3% 83% AB% E3% 82% B4% E3% 83% AA% E3% 82% BA% E3% 83% A0>). It is assumed that information necessary for the route generation unit 14 to perform a route search is stored in the map information storage unit 11.

  The generation of the route image is already known and will not be described in detail. For example, in an online map, when a latitude / longitude of a start point and a latitude / longitude of an end point are input, a route from the start point to the end point is displayed (for example, “http://maps.google.co. jp / maps ").

  The spot information receiving unit 15 receives spot information. This point information is input by the user. For example, when the user registers a favorite spot, the spot information receiving unit receives spot information indicating the favorite spot. The point information will be described later. The reception of the spot information by the spot information receiving unit 15 may be to receive the spot information from the outside of the map information display device 1, and any one of the plurality of spot information held in the map information display device 1 The selection of point information may be accepted. In the latter case, the selected point information is accepted.

  The spot information receiving unit 15 may receive spot information input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc.), and receives spot information transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line. Alternatively, point information read from a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, etc.) may be received. Note that the location information receiving unit 15 may or may not include a device (for example, a modem or a network card) for receiving. Moreover, the point information reception part 15 may be implement | achieved by hardware, or may be implement | achieved by software, such as a driver which drives a predetermined device.

  The accumulating unit 16 accumulates point information indicating points that are destinations received by the destination receiving unit 13 in a point information storage unit 17 described later. Further, the storage unit 16 stores the spot information received by the spot information receiving unit 15 in a spot information storage unit 17 described later.

  In the point information storage unit 17, two or more pieces of point information are stored. The point information is information indicating a point included in the map information, and may be, for example, a point name, position information on the map (for example, latitude / longitude), or an address. Any information can be used as long as it is information that can identify a point. The point information may also include date information that is information indicating the date. The date indicated by the date information may be, for example, the date when the destination is received by the destination receiving unit 13, and the point information is received by the point information receiving unit 15. It may be the date of the time, or the date of the time when the point information is accumulated. Further, the date information may be received together with destination and point information. The date information may include information indicating time. Thus, the destination received by the destination receiving unit 13 and the point information received by the point information receiving unit 15 and the point information stored in the point information storage unit 17 are strictly different. Also good. That is, the former may not have date information, and the latter may have date information. In addition, when the destination reception part 13 etc. receive a destination etc. with date information, the destination received by the destination reception part 13, the point information received by the point information reception part 15, and the point information storage The point information stored in the unit 17 may be the same. The date information may be, for example, information acquired from a calendar unit or a clock unit (not shown) and added to the point information when the storage unit 16 stores the point information. The point information may be information having a region name that is a name of a region including the point indicated by the point information. For example, the point information may include a point name “Kobe Airport” and a region name “Chuo-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo” including the Kobe airport. The area names may be divided into “Hyogo Prefecture”, “Kobe City”, and “Chuo Ward”. In the present embodiment, a case where this point information is a point name will be mainly described.

  In the present embodiment, the point information is stored in the point information storage unit 17 by the storage unit 16 described above. The storage in the point information storage unit 17 may be temporary storage in a RAM or the like, or may be long-term storage. The point information storage unit 17 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.).

  The regional information storage unit 18 stores regional information. The region information is information indicating a relationship between a point and a region name that is a name of a region including the point. This area information is information that can specify the area name (may be one area name or two or more hierarchical area names) including the point indicated by the point information from the point information. If so, the structure is not questioned. For example, the area information includes one or more area names (for example, only one area name “Hyogo Prefecture” or two or more hierarchical area names “Hyogo Prefecture”, “Kobe City”, “Chuo Ward”). May be associated with information indicating points included in the area of the area name (in the case of a hierarchical area name, the narrowest area name). The information indicating the points included in the area may be information indicating the points directly or information indicating the points indirectly. In the former case, the information indicating points included in the area may be information including the point name itself, for example. In this case, information indicating points included in the area usually includes two or more point names. Then, it is possible to determine whether or not the location is included in the area by determining whether or not the location name indicated by the location information is included in the information. In addition, when the information indicating the point included in the area is information indicating the point indirectly, the information may be information indicating the range of the area. The information indicating the range of the area may be information indicating the coordinates of the outline of the area (for example, latitude / longitude), for example. In this case, the point indicated by the point information is converted into coordinates such as latitude and longitude, if necessary, and by determining whether the coordinates corresponding to the point are included in the range of the region, Can be determined whether or not is included in the region.

  The process in which regional information is stored in the regional information storage unit 18 does not matter. For example, regional information may be stored in the regional information storage unit 18 via a recording medium, and regional information transmitted via a communication line or the like is stored in the regional information storage unit 18. Alternatively, the regional information input via the input device may be stored in the regional information storage unit 18. The storage in the regional information storage unit 18 may be temporary storage in a RAM or the like, or may be long-term storage. The regional information storage unit 18 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.).

  The receiving unit 19 receives an input in the map information display device 1. The input received by the receiving unit 19 may be, for example, an instruction to display point information or other input. For example, the reception unit 19 may receive information input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel), and may receive information transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line. The reception unit 19 may or may not include a device (for example, a modem or a network card) for reception. The reception unit 19 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.

  The hierarchical structure information generating unit 20 acquires the relationship between the point indicated by the point information and the region name that is the name of the region including the point, and generates the hierarchical structure information by collecting the region names. The hierarchical structure information is hierarchical structure information indicating the inclusive relation between points and regions. The hierarchical structure information is hierarchical structure information in which the point indicated by the point information is a leaf node, and the area name including the point indicated by the point information is a node other than the leaf node. The “leaf node” is the lowest node. Nodes other than leaf nodes are referred to as “upper nodes”. In addition, the highest node is referred to as a “root node”. In this hierarchical structure, the wide side is the upper side, and the narrow side is the lower side. Therefore, since the point information is the narrowest information, it is the lowest leaf node. The region name corresponding to the widest region is the root node. There may be one root node or two or more root nodes. The hierarchical structure of the hierarchical structure information may be two hierarchies (that is, a hierarchical structure in which a node below the root node is a leaf node), or may be three or more hierarchies. That is, the hierarchical structure information may include information on a hierarchical structure that indicates an inclusive relationship between regions.

  For example, when the point information includes the point indicated by the point information and the area name of the area including the point, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 uses the point and the point used for generation of the hierarchical structure information. The relationship with the area name can be acquired from the point information. That is, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 can acquire the relationship between the point indicated by the point information and the region name that is the name of the region including the point from the point information. The relationship between the point and the region name is a correspondence relationship between the point and the region name, and it is only necessary to know the region name corresponding to the point. The region name corresponding to the point is the region name of the region including the point.

  On the other hand, for example, when such information is not included in the spot information, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 uses the area information corresponding to the spot indicated by the spot information, The relationship with the area name which is the name of the area including the point can be acquired. Specifically, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 uses the information indicating the points included in the region, which is included in the region information, to obtain information indicating the points included in the region including the points indicated by the point information. Identify. And the hierarchical structure information generation part 20 can acquire the relationship between a point and an area name by acquiring the area name corresponding to the specified information. When the information indicating the point included in the region is information including the point name, in specifying the information indicating the point included in the region, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 performs a search using the point name as a search key, What is necessary is just to specify the information including the point name hit by the search. When the information indicating the point included in the region is information indicating the range of the region, in specifying the information indicating the point included in the region, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 acquires the coordinates corresponding to the point, It is only necessary to determine whether or not the acquired coordinates are included in each range, and to specify information indicating points included in the area, which is information indicating the range including the coordinates.

  The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 acquires a relationship between a point indicated by the point information and a region name that is the name of the region including the point, and the region names of two or more regions that are in an inclusive relationship. The hierarchical structure information may be generated so that the region name of the region including the number of point information more than the lower limit threshold value which is the lower limit threshold value becomes the parent node of the leaf node. By doing in this way, it can prevent that the area name of the area containing only a little point information becomes an upper node in hierarchical structure information. For example, when each of “Chuo Ward”, “Kita Ward”, “Nada Ward”, etc., which is a lower node of the upper node “Kobe City” and is a parent node of the leaf node, only includes about two pieces of point information In this case, the area names “Chuo Ward”, “Kita Ward”, “Nada Ward”, etc. are only used unnecessarily, and the access to each point information is poor. Therefore, in such a case, by making the area name “Kobe City” the parent node of the leaf node, it becomes possible to access each point information directly from the area name “Kobe City”, and the accessibility is improved. Will do.

  In addition, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 acquires a relationship between a point indicated by the point information and a region name that is a name of a region including the point and is in an inclusive relationship with two or more regions. Yes, the hierarchical structure information may be generated so that the area name of an area including a smaller number of pieces of point information than the upper limit threshold that is the upper limit threshold becomes the root node. By doing so, it is possible to prevent an area name including too much point information from becoming a root node in the hierarchical structure information. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation where the hierarchy is unnecessarily deep, and the accessibility to the point information is improved. For example, if the number of pieces of point information corresponding to the route node “Kobe City” is 100, even if the region name “Kobe City” is selected, the point information is not narrowed down. Therefore, in such a case, by selecting the root node by setting the root node to the area names “Chuo Ward”, “Kita Ward”, “Nada Ward”, etc. lower than the area name “Kobe City”. The point information can be efficiently narrowed down, and the accessibility to the point information is improved. The upper threshold value is usually larger than the lower threshold value.

  In addition, when a region name included in the hierarchical structure information is displayed in a list on the display unit 22 to be described later, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 displays the region name included in the hierarchical structure information as the region corresponding to the region name. Hierarchical structure information sorted by the number of pieces of point information included may be generated. The sorting is preferably performed in descending order of the number of pieces of point information included in the area corresponding to the area name. That is, it is preferable that the region name corresponding to the region name is displayed in a place where the region name is easier to select as the number of pieces of point information included is larger.

  In addition, when the area name included in the hierarchical structure information is displayed in a list on the display unit 22 to be described later and the point information includes date information, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 displays the hierarchical structure information. Hierarchical structure information obtained by sorting the spot information included in the list by the date information included in the spot information may be generated. The sorting is preferably performed so that the date and time information included in the point information is in descending order. That is, as the date corresponding to the point information is newer, it is preferable that the point information is displayed at a place where it is easier to select.

  The selection receiving unit 21 receives the selection of the area name displayed by the display unit 22 described later. In addition, the selection receiving unit 21 may receive selection of the spot information displayed by the display unit 22. This selection can be accepted, for example, by tapping the area name or point information itself, or an object corresponding to the area name on the touch panel, or by clicking with a pointing device such as a mouse. Alternatively, a number corresponding to a region name or the like may be input from a keyboard or the like, or selection may be accepted by other methods. The selection receiving unit 21 may receive information input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc.), or may receive information transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line. . Note that the selection reception unit 21 may or may not include a device (for example, a modem or a network card) for reception. The selection receiving unit 21 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.

  The display unit 22 displays map information. Further, the display unit 22 may read out and display the map information corresponding to the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12 from the map information storage unit 11. In the display, the display unit 22 reads only the map information of the area to be displayed from the map information storage unit 11 and displays it. Displaying map information means displaying a map image in the map information. The map image may display a place name, an orientation figure indicating north, a scale display indicating scale, and the like. Moreover, the display part 22 may display the mark which shows the position of the map information display apparatus 1 on a map. When the map information display device 1 is a car navigation device, a mark indicating the position of the car on which the car navigation device is mounted may be displayed on the map information. The display unit 22 may display the route generated by the route generation unit 14.

  The display unit 22 displays the area name or point information corresponding to the node included in the hierarchical structure information generated by the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20. In addition, the display unit 22 also displays child node information for the area name that the selection receiving unit 21 has received selection in the hierarchical structure information. The “child node information” is a region name if the child node is a region name, and is point information if the child node is point information. In the display of the hierarchical structure information, the display unit 22 may display as follows. The display unit 22 first displays the region name of the root node, and then displays the child node information for the root node of the region name that the selection receiving unit 21 has received the selection. When the selection of the parent node (region name) is accepted, the process of displaying the information of the child node (region name or point information) for the parent node is repeated until the point information that is the child node is displayed. . That is, the display unit 22 sequentially displays from the root node to the leaf node according to the selection.

  The display unit 22 may display a list of area names included in the hierarchical structure information (for example, a menu display such as a pull-down menu, a pull-up menu, a slide menu, a folding menu, or the like, or other list display). The area name included in the hierarchical structure information is displayed as the folder name (in this case, the area name can be selected by opening the folder whose area name is the folder name). If you open the folder, you may be able to see a folder with a region name lower than that folder.) The region name included in the hierarchical structure information What is displayed on the map (in this case, the selection of the area name may be, for example, selection of an area on the map corresponding to the area name, If the region name is selected, the map of the region corresponding to the selected region name is enlarged and the region name and point information can be selected. It may be preferable to be configured as described above), or other display may be performed.

  The display unit 22 may or may not include a display device (for example, a CRT or a liquid crystal display) that performs such display. Further, the display of the map information or the like may be performed on a device different from the map information display device 1. In that case, the display unit 22 may transmit the map information and the like to the outside of the map information display device 1. The display unit 22 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a display device.

  Note that any two or more of the map information storage unit 11, the point information storage unit 17, and the area information storage unit 18 may be realized by the same recording medium, or may be recorded separately. It may be realized by a medium. In the former case, for example, an area storing map information is the map information storage unit 11, and an area storing point information is the point information storage unit 17.

Next, operation | movement of the map information display apparatus 1 by this Embodiment is demonstrated using the flowchart of FIG. 2, FIG.
(Step S101) The current position acquisition unit 12 determines whether a new current position has been acquired. If a new current position is acquired, the process proceeds to step S102. If not, the process proceeds to step S103. For example, when the current position acquisition unit 12 determines that a new current position has been acquired, the current position is temporarily stored in a recording medium (not shown), and the latest current position is temporarily stored. If the current position is different from the current position, it may be determined that a new current position has been acquired, and the new current position may be overwritten and stored in a recording medium (not shown).

  (Step S <b> 102) The display unit 22 reads out map information corresponding to the new current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12 from the map information storage unit 11 and displays it. Then, the process returns to step S101. The display unit 22 may display a mark or the like indicating the current position in the map information to be displayed. Further, when the route is being guided, the display unit 22 may display a guide such as “turn right at the next intersection”. Further, in the case of a car navigation device that outputs the guide sound, the map information display device 1 may include a guide sound output unit (not shown) that generates sound of the guide and outputs the sound to a speaker. .

  (Step S103) The destination receiving unit 13 determines whether a destination has been received. If the destination is accepted, the process proceeds to step S104. If not, the process proceeds to step S107.

  (Step S <b> 104) The accumulation unit 16 accumulates the point information that is the destination received by the destination reception unit 13 in the point information storage unit 17. At the time of the accumulation, the accumulation unit 16 may receive date information from a calendar unit (not shown) or the like and accumulate the date information by including the date information in the point information.

  (Step S <b> 105) The route generation unit 14 generates a route from the departure point that is the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 12 to the destination received by the destination reception unit 13. The generated route may be temporarily stored in a recording medium (not shown).

  (Step S106) The display unit 22 displays the route generated by the route generation unit 14. Then, the process returns to step S101. The route display may be a route display on a map related to the vicinity of the current position. In that case, as the map information display device 1 moves from the departure place to the destination, different portions of the route are gradually displayed.

  (Step S107) The spot information receiving unit 15 determines whether spot information has been received. If the point information is accepted, the process proceeds to step S108, and if not, the process proceeds to step S109.

  (Step S <b> 108) The storage unit 16 stores the spot information received by the spot information receiving unit 15 in the spot information storage unit 17. At the time of the accumulation, the accumulation unit 16 may receive date information from a calendar unit (not shown) or the like and accumulate the date information by including the date information in the point information. Then, the process returns to step S101.

  (Step S109) The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines whether to display the spot information. And when displaying point information, it progresses to step S110, and when that is not right, it returns to step S101. The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 may determine that the point information is displayed when the reception unit 19 receives an instruction to display the point information, or at other timing. It may be determined that the point information is displayed.

  (Step S110) The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 generates hierarchical structure information. Details of this processing will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the generated hierarchical structure information may be stored in a recording medium (not shown).

  (Step S111) The display unit 22 displays the area name of the root node of the hierarchical structure information generated by the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20.

  (Step S <b> 112) The selection receiving unit 21 determines whether selection of a displayed area name or point information has been received. And when it receives, it progresses to step S113, and when that is not right, it progresses to step S114.

  (Step S <b> 113) The display unit 22 displays information on a node below the selected region name, for example, a region name below the selected region name or point information below the selected region name. Then, the process returns to step S112. In addition, when selection of point information is received in step S112, the display part 22 may display the detailed information of the selected point information.

  (Step S114) The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines whether or not to end the display of the spot information. If the process is to end, the process returns to step S101; otherwise, the process returns to step S112. Note that the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 may determine that the display of the spot information is to be ended, for example, when the receiving unit 19 receives an instruction to end the display of the spot information, or other timing It may be determined that the display of the point information ends.

  In the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 3, the processing is ended by powering off or interruption for aborting the processing. In the flowcharts of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the case where the hierarchical structure information is generated at the timing of displaying the spot information has been described. For example, hierarchical structure information may be generated and stored in advance, and the previously stored hierarchical structure information may be used when displaying point information.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the hierarchical structure information generation process (step S110) in the flowchart of FIG. Note that the flowchart of FIG. 4 is only one specific example of generating hierarchical structure information, and it goes without saying that the hierarchical structure information may be generated by other methods. Further, in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the case where the area name is not included in the point information will be described.

  (Step S <b> 201) The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 reads all the spot information from the spot information storage unit 17.

  (Step S202) The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 specifies the area name corresponding to each point information read in step S201 by using the area information stored in the area information storage unit 18. The area name corresponding to each point information is the name of the area including the point indicated by each point information. By performing this process, the point information is associated with one or more area names. Specifying the area name may be, for example, storing the area name to be specified in association with the point information.

  (Step S203) The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 generates hierarchical structure information by collecting overlapping region names in the relationship between the point information obtained in step S202 and one or more region names. In the hierarchical structure information, the root node is the name of the widest region, the leaf node is the point information, and is information indicating a point, a region, or an inclusive relation between regions. This hierarchical structure may be a tree structure, for example. The process of grouping the area names can be realized, for example, by performing a unique process for the area names. In the unique process related to the area name, the link relation between the area name that is the target of the unique process and the area name or point information that is a child node of the area name is held. That is, by performing this unique process, a plurality of linear relationships without branching from the root node to the leaf node are changed to a tree structure. Also, at this stage, the hierarchical structure information is generated, but the processing is changed to more appropriate hierarchical structure information by executing the following steps S204 to S211. In the hierarchical structure information at this stage, a tree structure having one root node is referred to as one hierarchical structure.

  (Step S204) The hierarchical structure information generating unit 20 sets the counter i to 1.

  (Step S205) With respect to the i-th hierarchical structure, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines whether there is a parent node of a leaf node whose number of point information is equal to or less than the lower threshold value. When the determination result is “Yes”, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines that the number of point information corresponding to the parent node higher than the parent node is a certain threshold value (this threshold value). It is determined whether it is less than or equal to “intermediate threshold value”. If the determination result is also “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S206. If not (if any determination is “No”), the process proceeds to step S207. Note that the number of pieces of point information of a certain node is the number of pieces of point information included in the region having the region name corresponding to the node. That is, the number of pieces of point information of a certain node is the number of pieces of point information that are directly lower (ie, child nodes) or indirectly lower (ie, grandchild nodes) of the node in the hierarchical structure information. Further, the intermediate threshold value is generally equal to or lower than the upper threshold value and larger than the lower threshold value. That is, the relationship of upper threshold value ≧ intermediate threshold value> lower threshold value is usually established.

  (Step S206) In step S205, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines the parent node for the parent node of the leaf node for which the number of pieces of point information is determined to be less than or equal to the lower threshold (this parent node is referred to as “ The parent node of the leaf node is integrated so that the parent node of the point information existing below the grandfather node may be called “grandfather node”. For example, by deleting a node that is a child node of the grandfather node but not the point information node, the grandfather node and the point information are in a parent-child relationship, so that the integration can be performed. Note that the parent-child relationship may not be changed, and the area name of a node that is a child node of the grandfather node but not the point information node may be simply deleted. Then, the process returns to step S205.

  (Step S207) The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines whether there is a root node with the number of pieces of point information equal to or greater than the upper threshold with respect to the i-th hierarchical structure. In step S208, when the child node of the root node is the root node, two or more tree structures exist in the i-th hierarchical structure. In this case, this determination is made for each tree structure (hierarchical structure). When the determination result is “Yes”, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines whether the child node of the root node is a region name node (that is, whether the child node is not a leaf node). To do. If the determination result is also “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S208. If not (if any determination is “No”), the process proceeds to step S209.

  (Step S208) The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 sets i or so that one or more child nodes of the root node determined in step S207 that the number of pieces of point information is greater than or equal to the upper threshold value are set as root nodes. Split the th hierarchy. For example, by deleting the parent-child relationship between the root node whose number of location information is determined to be equal to or greater than the upper threshold and one or more child nodes for the root node and deleting the root node, the division is performed. It can be performed. It is also possible to leave the parent-child relationship as it is and delete the area name of the root node. Then, the process returns to step S207.

  (Step S209) The hierarchical structure information generating unit 20 increments the counter i by 1.

  (Step S210) The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines whether or not the i-th hierarchical structure exists in the hierarchical structure generated in step S203. And when it exists, it returns to step S205, and when that is not right, it progresses to step S211.

  (Step S211) For each hierarchical structure, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 sorts the upper nodes according to the number of pieces of point information included in the nodes, and includes the leaf nodes in the point information corresponding to the leaf nodes. Sort according to the date information. The sorted hierarchical structure information is finally generated hierarchical structure information. And it returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 4, when the display unit 22 does not display the list of area names, the sorting process in step S211 may not be performed. Further, when the integration of the parent node of the leaf node, the change of the root node, or the like is not performed, the processing of steps S204 to S210 may be omitted. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the case where sorting is performed last has been described, but this need not be the case. A sort process may be performed immediately after the process of step S203. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the case where the root node is divided after the lower-level nodes are integrated has been described. However, this order may be reversed. That is, the process may proceed from step S204 to step S207, from step S207 No to step S205, and from step S205 No to step S209. In that case, if the grandfather node of the leaf node is the root node in step S205, the process may proceed to No.

  Next, operation | movement of the map information display apparatus 1 by this Embodiment is demonstrated using a specific example. In this specific example, it is assumed that the map information display device 1 is a car navigation device and is mounted on a car.

  It is assumed that the user operates the map information display device 1 while traveling in a car. Then, the current position acquisition unit 12 acquires the latest current position in accordance with the driving of the car (step S101), and the display unit 22 updates and displays the display target map information accordingly (step S102). . Thereafter, it is assumed that the user presses (tap) the “main menu” button at the bottom of the screen to display the main menu and selects destination input from the main menu. Then, the destination input screen is displayed. On the destination input screen, as shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the user inputs “Korukoukou” and presses the “OK” button. Then, the destination receiving unit 13 receives the destination “Kobe Airport” corresponding to “Koukoukou”, and passes the destination to the storage unit 16 and the route generation unit 14 (step S103). When the storage unit 16 receives the destination “Kobe Airport”, it acquires date information “November 23, 2009” from the calendar unit (not shown). And the point information including the date information and the point name “Kobe Airport” which is the destination is constructed, and the point information is accumulated in the point information storage unit 17 (step S104). FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the spot information accumulated as described above. In the point information of FIG. 6, the point name and date information are associated with each other. In FIG. 6, one record corresponds to one point information. Note that the location information (for example, latitude / longitude) corresponding to the location name may be included in the location information.

  When the route generation unit 14 receives the destination “Kobe Airport” from the destination reception unit 13, the route generation unit 14 receives the current location as the departure location from the current location acquisition unit 12, and uses the departure location and the destination. A route is generated (step S105). It is assumed that the map information stored in the map information storage unit 11 is referred to when the route is generated. The generated route is stored in a recording medium (not shown) and displayed by the display unit 22 (step S106). FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a map with a route displayed as described above. In FIG. 7, navigation information using the generated route, for example, “Please turn right at the signal 500 meters ahead” may be displayed on the screen, or may be output as audio. Is similar to a known navigation device.

  Thereafter, it is assumed that the user presses the “display point information” button at the lower left of the screen with his / her finger while traveling in a car. Then, the reception unit 19 determines that an instruction to display the spot information has been received (step S109), and passes the instruction to the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20. And the hierarchical structure information generation part 20 performs the process which produces | generates hierarchical structure information (step S110). Specifically, first, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 reads the spot information shown in FIG. 6 from the spot information storage unit 17 and temporarily stores it in a recording medium (not shown) (step S201). And the hierarchical structure information generation part 20 acquires the positional information corresponding to each spot name using the spot name corresponding | compatible information shown by FIG. 8, and matches the acquired positional information with the spot name of spot information. accumulate. The spot name correspondence information in FIG. 8 is information having a spot name and position information that is information indicating a position corresponding to the spot name. The position information is usually information indicating the position of a certain point (for example, it may be latitude / longitude or other position information), but in some cases, a small range ( For example, it may be information indicating an area of 10 meters square or 20 meters square (that is, information indicating an area such as a facility). The point name may be, for example, a facility name, a name of a famous place or a historic site, an address, or a name related to another point. The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 searches the spot name correspondence information in FIG. 8 using the spot name included in the spot information as a search key, and acquires position information from the hit spot name correspondence information (record), thereby obtaining the spot information. Position information corresponding to the name can be acquired. The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 performs a process of specifying the area name corresponding to each piece of spot information using the position information corresponding to the spot name thus acquired (step S202).

  Here, it is assumed that the area information storage unit 18 stores the area information shown in FIG. The area information in FIG. 9 is information in which a plurality of area names having a hierarchical relationship are associated with point range information that is information indicating points corresponding to the area of the area name. In the region name (N), the smaller the value of N, the higher the region name. For example, the region name “Tohoku / Hokkaido” includes the region names “North Sea”, “Iwate Prefecture”, and so on. The area name “Hokkaido” includes the area names “Sapporo City”, “Asahikawa City”, and so on. In addition, the area name “Sapporo City” includes area names “Chuo Ward”, “Kita Ward”, and so on. The point range information is information indicating the coordinates of the contour of the area. For example, the range of Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, is surrounded by position information of (X101, Y101), (X102, Y102),.

  In the process of specifying the area name corresponding to each piece of point information, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 specifies, for one piece of point information, point range information including position information corresponding to the point name included in the point information. . Then, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 acquires the region name (1) to region name (4) corresponding to the specified spot range information. For example, in the case of spot information having the spot name “Kobe Airport”, spot range information including position information (X1002, Y1002) corresponding to the spot name is specified. Here, it is assumed that the point range information (X701, Y701), (X702, Y702),... Is specified as the point range information including the position information (X1002, Y1002). Then, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 acquires “Kinki”, “Hyogo Prefecture”, “Kobe City”, and “Chuo Ward” which are the region name (1) to the region name (4) corresponding to the point range information, The information is stored in association with the point information having the point name “Kobe Airport”. The information thus accumulated is the first record in FIG. Thereafter, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 performs such processing for all the acquired point information. As a result, it is assumed that information such as point information stored in a recording medium (not shown) is as shown in FIG. Note that in FIG. 10, “-” indicates that the information does not exist. For example, in the case of Akashi City, the child node of the area name “Akashi City” of the area name (3) is the point information “Akashi City Astronomical Science Museum”.

  The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 collects the region names by performing unique processing in order from the upper region name for the information in FIG. 10 (step S203). That is, first, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 sorts the records in FIG. 10 with respect to the area name (1), and performs the unique processing of the area name (1). Next, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 sorts the records in FIG. 10 for each region name (1) with respect to the region name (2), and performs a unique process. Furthermore, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 sorts the records in FIG. 10 for each spot name (2) with respect to the spot name (3), and performs unique processing. Finally, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 sorts the records in FIG. 10 for each spot name (3) with respect to the spot name (4), and performs a unique process. As a result, the information in FIG. 10 is as shown in FIG. The unique processing of the spot name may be to change the link relationship between the spot name and the spot information (“Spot Name” and “Year / Month Date Information” in FIGS. 10 and 11). For example, in the case of the spot name (1), by performing the unique process, the link relationship is changed so that the spot information “Kinki” is associated with the second and subsequent spot information in FIG. It may be. The same applies to the names of the subordinate points. FIG. 11 shows the hierarchical structure information at the time when the process of step S203 of FIG. 4 is completed. Thereafter, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 performs node integration, root node division, and the like. The description from here will be made with reference to the tree structure shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 11 is different from FIG. 12 only in the expression format of the hierarchical structure, and the content of information is substantially the same. In FIG. 12, a figure whose left and right ends are arcs is a node corresponding to a region name. A rectangular figure is a node corresponding to point information. The characters described in each node are a region name or a spot name. The number on the upper right of each node is the number of point information corresponding to that node. That is, the number at the upper right of each node indicates the number of pieces of point information hanging directly or indirectly on that node. This value can be calculated using the hierarchical structure information. For example, by counting the number of spot names linked to the area name “Kinki”, the number of point information corresponding to the area name “Kinki” can be known.

  In FIG. 12, since there are two root nodes, two hierarchical structures are shown. Here, it is assumed that the upper threshold value used in the following processing is “20”, the intermediate threshold value is “15”, and the lower threshold value is “5”. They may be stored in a recording medium (not shown), and the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 may access and read them. The hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 first sets the first hierarchical structure, that is, the hierarchical structure whose root node is the area name “Tohoku / Hokkaido”, to the parent node of the leaf node as the lower threshold “5” or less. It is determined whether there is a node that is the number of pieces of point information. In this case, since the parent node of the leaf node “Morioka Station” is only the area name “Morioka City” and the number of pieces of point information corresponding to the node is “1”, the lower threshold “5” or less. There is a parent node of the leaf node, which is the number of pieces of point information. In addition, since the number “1” of point information corresponding to the node “Iwate Prefecture” that is one higher than the node “Morioka city” is equal to or less than the intermediate threshold value “15” (steps S204 and S205), The structure information generation unit 20 performs node integration by deleting a region name that is a child node for the grandfather node “Iwate Prefecture” of the leaf node “Morioka Station” (step S206). In this case, the leaf node “Morioka Station” is a child node of the node having the area name “Iwate Prefecture”. Similarly, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 causes the leaf node “Morioka Station” to be a child node of the area name “Tohoku / Hokkaido” (steps S205 and S206). In this case, since the number of pieces of point information corresponding to the root node “Tohoku / Hokkaido” is “1” which is equal to or less than the upper threshold “20”, no further node change is performed (step S207).

  Next, for the second hierarchical structure, that is, the hierarchical structure whose root node is “Kinki”, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 stores the point information corresponding to the parent node “Chuo-ku” of the leaf node “Osaka Castle”. It is determined that the number is “4” and is equal to or less than the lower threshold. Further, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines that the number of pieces of point information corresponding to the grandfather node “Osaka City” of the leaf node “Osaka Castle” is “6”, which is equal to or less than the intermediate threshold value (step) (S209, S210, S205). Therefore, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 integrates the nodes so that the child node of the grandfather node “Osaka city” becomes the point information (step S206). Next, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines that the number of pieces of point information corresponding to the parent node “Toyonaka City” of the leaf node “Hattori Ryokuchi” is “3” and is equal to or less than the lower threshold value. However, the number of point information corresponding to the grandfather node “Osaka Prefecture” of the leaf node “Hattori Ryokuchi” is “16”, which is not less than the intermediate threshold value. Not done.

  Thereafter, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines that the number of pieces of point information corresponding to the root node “Kinki” is “90” and exceeds the upper limit threshold value. Further, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 determines that the child node of the root node is not a leaf node (step S207). As a result, the tree structure is divided so that the root node has the region name “Osaka Prefecture” and the region name “Hyogo Prefecture” (step S208). Further, for the route node “Hyogo Prefecture”, the number of point information still exceeds the upper limit threshold value, so the route node is divided into area names “Kobe City” and “Akashi City” (steps S207 and S208). ). Furthermore, for the route node “Kobe City”, the number of point information still exceeds the upper threshold value, so the route node is divided into point names “Chuo Ward”, “Kita Ward”... (Step S207, S208). When the region name (4) is used as the root node, the region name (4) is changed to include the region name of the parent node of the region name (4). In other words, “Chuo-ku” is assumed to be “Chuo-ku, Kobe City”, and “Kita-ku” is assumed to be “Kita-ku, Kobe City”. As a result, each hierarchical structure is as shown in FIG. After that, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 performs sorting using the number of point information and date information. In this sorting, it is assumed that sorting is performed in order from the area name (1) to the area name (4). At this time, it may be possible to sort, assuming that there are also region names that have been lost due to integration or division, and it may not be. In this specific example, the former case will be described. Information indicating the correspondence between the sorted area name and the point information is as shown in FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 14, in the case of node integration, the region name on the lower side may be deleted. In addition, when dividing a node, it is only necessary to delete the region name on the upper side.

  Thereafter, the display unit 22 refers to the information in FIG. 14 and reads out only the area names of the root node and displays them as shown in FIG. 15 (step S111). In the display of FIG. 15, if the user presses “Kobe City Chuo Ward”, the selection accepting unit 21 accepts the selection of “Kobe City Chuo Ward” (step S 112) and passes it to the display unit 22. Then, the display unit 22 refers to the hierarchical structure information of FIG. 14, reads out the spot names of the area information that is a child node of the area name “Kobe City Chuo-ku”, and displays them as shown in FIG. 16 ( Step S113). In the display of FIG. 16, if the user presses “Kobe Airport”, the selection receiving unit 21 receives the selection (step S112) and passes it to the display unit 22. And the display part 22 reads the point information which has area name "Kobe Airport" from the hierarchical structure information of FIG. 14, and displays it as shown in FIG. 17 (step S113). In addition, although FIG. 17 demonstrated the case where only point information was displayed, processing, such as performing a route search by setting a point corresponding to the selected point information as a destination, may be performed. Needless to say.

  When the user presses the “end” button, the point information display processing is ended (step S114), and the map information is displayed (steps S101 and S102).

  In this specific example, the case where each node is displayed as a list has been described, but this need not be the case. For example, when the display unit 22 displays the root node, as shown in FIG. 18, the area corresponding to the root node and the area name may be displayed on the map. In the display of FIG. 18, when the user presses the letter “Chuo-ku, Kobe City”, as shown in FIG. 19, each point information may be displayed together with an enlarged map corresponding to the area. In addition, the position on the map corresponding to each point information can be known, for example, by acquiring the position information using the point name correspondence information and using the position information. Further, FIG. 19 shows a case where only two pieces of point information are displayed, but this is for convenience of explanation, and originally, twenty pieces of point information are displayed (FIG. 12, FIG. In FIG. 13, the number in the upper right of Chuo-ku, Kobe City is “20”).

  In this specific example, the case where the area information includes the point range information has been described. However, the area information may include the point name itself as illustrated in FIG. 20 instead of the point range information. In this case, when acquiring a region name corresponding to the point information, a search is performed using the point name as a search key, and region names (1) to (4) corresponding to the hit point names are acquired. It will be good.

  In this specific example, the case where the hierarchical structure information is displayed as a list or displayed on a map has been described. However, as described above, the display method of the hierarchical structure information is not limited to these. For example, the hierarchical structure information may be displayed using a folder. For example, when opening a folder in Chuo-ku, Kobe, point information of Kobe Airport or Kobe City Hall may be included. Further, when the Osaka Prefecture folder is opened, folders such as Osaka City and Toyonaka City are included, and when the Osaka City folder is opened, the location information of Osaka Castle and Central Public Hall may be included. In addition, when displaying in a folder in this way, each point information may be stored in the directory corresponding to the hierarchical structure of the folder. For example, the location information of Kobe Airport may be managed so as to be included in the folder of Chuo-ku, Kobe City.

  Further, in this specific example, the case where the destination information and the point information received by the map information display device 1 are area names has been described, but the point information may be position information such as latitude and longitude. In that case, when a spot name corresponding to the position information is necessary, the position information and the spot name may be appropriately converted using the spot name correspondence information shown in FIG.

  Further, in this specific example, since the point information is a point name, the location name is acquired using the location name correspondence information, and then the region name corresponding to the location information is specified. If the location information is included in the point information, the location name and the location information in FIG. 9 can be used to directly acquire the location name. Further, when the location information includes location information and does not contain the location name, and the location name is specified using the location information shown in FIG. 20, the location information is obtained using the location name correspondence information. After converting to a spot name, the spot name can be specified by performing a search using the spot name as a search key.

  Further, the method of generating the hierarchical structure information shown in FIG. 11 described in this specific example is an example, and it goes without saying that the hierarchical structure information may be generated by a different method. For example, you may perform as follows. All region names of the region name (1) are acquired, and the unique processing is performed. All the region names of the region name (2) corresponding to each region name after the unique processing are acquired, and the unique processing is performed. Then, the hierarchical structure information may be generated by acquiring all the area names of the area name (3) corresponding to each area name after the unique process and repeating the unique process in order. Needless to say, the hierarchical structure information may be generated by other methods. It goes without saying that the data structure indicating the hierarchical structure information is not limited to the description in this specific example.

  As described above, according to the map information display device 1 according to the present embodiment, hierarchical structure information can be automatically generated. Further, by using the hierarchical structure information, the user can efficiently access the spot information. For example, if a hierarchical structure defined in advance as shown in FIG. 9 is used, an area where no point information exists may be displayed, but this can be avoided. it can. Also, by integrating and dividing nodes, it is possible to avoid a situation where the hierarchy becomes unnecessarily deep, and the accessibility to point information is improved. In addition, by performing sorting using the number of point information and the date information included in the point information, the user's desired point information can be displayed higher in the list display.

  In addition, in this Embodiment, when the display part 22 displayed the area name as a list, although the number of point information and the case where it sorts using date information were demonstrated, it is any of the sorts. One sort may not be performed, or both sorts may not be performed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a case has been described where hierarchical structure information is generated so that a region name of a region that includes a smaller number of pieces of point information than the upper threshold that is the upper threshold is the root node. It does n’t have to be. For example, the root node may be a region name including the number of pieces of point information equal to or greater than the upper threshold value.

  In the present embodiment, the hierarchical structure information is generated so that the region name of the region including the number of pieces of point information larger than the lower threshold that is the lower threshold becomes the parent node of the leaf node. As explained, it doesn't have to be. For example, the parent node of the leaf node may include a threshold value equal to or lower than the lower threshold value.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the map information display device 1 includes the area information storage unit 18 has been described. However, as described above, the point information has an area name, and the area name is used. Thus, when generating hierarchical structure information, the map information display device 1 may not include the area information storage unit 18.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the point information that is the destination is stored in the point information storage unit 17 has been described, but this need not be the case. When the point information that is the destination is not accumulated in the point information storage unit 17, the map information display device 1 may not include the destination reception unit 13 or the route generation unit 14. Further, the current position acquisition unit 12 may not be provided. Further, the storage unit 16 may not be provided.

  Moreover, although the case where the spot information received by the spot information receiving unit 15 is accumulated in the spot information storage unit 17 has been described in the present embodiment, this need not be the case. When the spot information received by the spot information receiving unit 15 is not accumulated in the spot information storage unit 17, the map information display device 1 may not include the spot information receiving unit 15. Further, the storage unit 16 may not be provided.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, when the map information display apparatus 1 is not provided with the accumulation | storage part 16, and there is no mechanism which accumulate | stores point information automatically in the point information storage part 17, another method is used. The point information is stored in the point information storage unit 17. In that case, the process in which the spot information is stored in the spot information storage unit 17 does not matter. For example, the spot information may be stored in the spot information storage unit 17 via a recording medium, and the spot information transmitted via a communication line or the like is stored in the spot information storage unit 17. Alternatively, the spot information input via the input device may be stored in the spot information storage unit 17.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 is a location indicated by the location information, and a location name that is the name of the location including the location, and the location names of two or more locations that are in an inclusive relationship. When the hierarchical structure information is generated so that the region name of the region including the number of point information smaller than the upper threshold that is the upper threshold becomes the root node, As explained in the specific example, the area name of the root node (for example, “Chuo Ward”) and the area name including the area of the area name (for example, “Kobe City”, “Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture”, etc.) ) May be added. That is, the hierarchical structure information generation unit 20 may aggregate the region names of the upper regions including the region of the region name into the lower region name that is the root node. This is because the region may not be clearly identified only by the name of the region located at the bottom of the hierarchical structure (for example, if only “Chuo Ward” is the Chuo Ward of Kobe City or Chuo Ward of Osaka City) I do n’t know if it ’s). In this case, the region name to be added may be, for example, all region names up to the top of the region name hierarchy (in this case, for example, “Chuo-ku, Kobe City, Kinki-Hyogo Prefecture”). Or the limited top region names (N is an integer greater than or equal to 1) in the immediate vicinity of the target region (in this case, for example, “ “Chuo-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture” (in the case of the top two) and “Chuo-ku, Kobe City” (in the case of the top one)). Further, the hierarchy of area names for which the area names are aggregated (added) may be determined. For example, when the root node is a level of a prefecture (a level of the region name (2) in the specific example), the region names are not aggregated, but the root node is a layer below that (the region name of the specific example ( 3) In the case of (4) hierarchy), it may be decided to aggregate the area names.

  Moreover, although the case where the map information display device 1 is a stand-alone has been described in the above embodiment, the map information display device 1 may be a stand-alone device or a server device in a server / client system. Good. In the latter case, the display unit or the reception unit may receive input or display information via a communication line.

  In the above embodiment, each process or each function may be realized by centralized processing by a single device or a single system, or may be distributedly processed by a plurality of devices or a plurality of systems. It may be realized by doing.

  In the above embodiment, information related to processing executed by each component, for example, information received, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received by each component In addition, information such as threshold values, mathematical formulas, addresses, etc. used by each component in processing is retained temporarily or over a long period of time on a recording medium (not shown) even when not explicitly stated in the above description. It may be. Further, the storage of information in the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a storage unit (not shown). Further, reading of information from the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a reading unit (not shown).

  In the above embodiment, when information used by each component, for example, information such as a threshold value, an address, and various setting values used by each component may be changed by the user Even if it is not specified in the above description, the user may be able to change the information as appropriate, or it may not be. If the information can be changed by the user, the change is realized by, for example, a not-shown receiving unit that receives a change instruction from the user and a changing unit (not shown) that changes the information in accordance with the change instruction. May be. The change instruction received by the receiving unit (not shown) may be received from an input device, information received via a communication line, or information read from a predetermined recording medium, for example. .

  In the above embodiment, when two or more components included in the map information display apparatus 1 have a communication device or an input device, the two or more components have a physically single device. Or may have separate devices.

  In the above embodiment, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or a component that can be realized by software may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component can be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. In addition, the software which implement | achieves the map information display apparatus in the said embodiment is the following programs. In other words, this program causes the computer to store at least two pieces of point information that is information indicating points included in the map information stored in the map information storage unit in which the map information that is information about the map is stored. The point indicated by the point information is a leaf node by acquiring the relationship between the point indicated by the point information stored in the storage unit and the region name that is the name of the region including the point, and collecting the region name. Information on the hierarchical structure in which the area name of the area including the point indicated by the information is a node other than a leaf node (this node is referred to as “upper node”), and information on the hierarchical structure indicating the inclusion relation between the point and the area. A hierarchical structure information generation unit that generates certain hierarchical structure information, a map information is displayed, and a region name or point corresponding to a node included in the hierarchical structure information generated by the hierarchical structure information generation unit A display unit that displays information, and a selection reception unit that receives selection of the area name displayed by the display unit, and the display unit displays child node information for the area name that the selection reception unit has received selection in the hierarchical structure information. Is a program that also displays.

  In the program, the functions realized by the program do not include functions that can be realized only by hardware. For example, functions that can be realized only by hardware such as a modem and an interface card in a reception unit that receives information and a display unit that displays information are not included in at least the functions realized by the program.

  The program may be executed by being downloaded from a server or the like, and a program recorded on a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like) is read out. May be executed by Further, this program may be used as a program constituting a program product.

  Further, the computer that executes this program may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed.

  FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the appearance of a computer that executes the program and realizes the map information display device 1 according to the embodiment. The above-described embodiment can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed on the computer hardware.

  21, a computer system 900 includes a computer 901 including a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) drive 905 and an FD (Floppy (registered trademark) Disk) drive 906, a keyboard 902, a mouse 903, a monitor 904, and the like. Is provided.

  FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the computer system 900. In FIG. 22, in addition to the CD-ROM drive 905 and the FD drive 906, a computer 901 is connected to an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 911, a ROM 912 for storing a program such as a bootup program, and the MPU 911. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 913 that temporarily stores program instructions and provides a temporary storage space, a hard disk 914 that stores application programs, system programs, and data, and an MPU 911 and a ROM 912 are interconnected. And a bus 915. The computer 901 may include a network card (not shown) that provides connection to the LAN.

  A program for causing the computer system 900 to execute the function of the map information display device 1 according to the above embodiment is stored in the CD-ROM 921 or the FD 922, inserted into the CD-ROM drive 905 or the FD drive 906, and the hard disk 914. May be forwarded to. Instead, the program may be transmitted to the computer 901 via a network (not shown) and stored in the hard disk 914. The program is loaded into the RAM 913 when executed. The program may be loaded directly from the CD-ROM 921, the FD 922, or the network.

  The program does not necessarily include an operating system (OS) or a third-party program that causes the computer 901 to execute the functions of the map information display device 1 according to the above embodiment. The program may include only a part of an instruction that calls an appropriate function (module) in a controlled manner and obtains a desired result. How the computer system 900 operates is well known and will not be described in detail.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, according to the map information display device and the like according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the accessibility to the spot information, and it is useful as, for example, a car navigation device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Map information display apparatus 11 Map information storage part 12 Current position acquisition part 13 Destination reception part 14 Route generation part 15 Point information reception part 16 Accumulation part 17 Point information storage part 18 Area information storage part 19 Reception part 20 Hierarchical structure information generation Part 21 Selection acceptance part 22 Display part

Claims (12)

A map information storage unit that stores map information that is information about the map;
A point information storage unit that stores two or more pieces of point information that is information indicating points included in the map information;
By acquiring the relationship between the point indicated by the point information and the region name that is the name of the region including the point, and collecting the region name, the point indicated by the point information is a leaf node, Hierarchical structure information in which the area name of the area including the indicated point is a node other than a leaf node (this node is referred to as an “upper node”), and is a hierarchical structure information indicating the inclusive relation between the point and the area A hierarchical structure information generation unit for generating structure information;
A display unit that displays the map information and displays area names or point information corresponding to nodes included in the hierarchical structure information generated by the hierarchical structure information generation unit;
A selection receiving unit that receives a selection of the area name displayed by the display unit,
The display unit
The map information display apparatus which also displays the information of the child node with respect to the area name which the selection reception part received selection in the said hierarchical structure information. The display unit
First, the region name of the root node is displayed, then the child node information for the root node of the region name that has been selected by the selection accepting unit is also displayed, and when this parent node selection is accepted, The map information display device according to claim 1, wherein the process of displaying the information of the child node for the node is repeated until the point information that is the child node is displayed. A point information receiving unit for receiving point information;
The map information display device according to claim 1, further comprising: an accumulation unit that accumulates the point information received by the point information reception unit in the point information storage unit. A current position acquisition unit for acquiring the current position;
A destination reception unit for receiving a destination;
A route generating unit that generates a route from a starting point that is the current position acquired by the current position acquiring unit to a destination received by the destination receiving unit using the map information;
A storage unit that stores point information indicating a point that is a destination received by the destination reception unit in the point information storage unit;
The display unit
The map information display device according to claim 1, wherein the route information generated by the route generation unit is also displayed. A region information storage unit that stores region information that is information indicating a relationship between the point and the region name that is the name of the region including the point;
The hierarchical structure information generation unit
The relationship between the point indicated by the point information and the name of the region including the point is acquired by using the region information corresponding to the point indicated by the point information. Any one of the map information display apparatuses described. The point information is information having a region name that is a name of a region including the point indicated by the point information,
The hierarchical structure information generation unit
5. The map information display device according to claim 1, wherein a relationship between a point indicated by the point information and a region name that is a name of a region including the point is acquired from the point information. The hierarchical structure information generation unit
The relationship between the point indicated by the point information and the region name that is the name of the region including the point, and the region name of two or more regions that are in an inclusive relationship is obtained, 7. The hierarchical structure information is generated so that a region name of a region including a larger number of point information than a certain lower threshold is a parent node of the leaf node. Map information display device. The hierarchical structure information generation unit
The relationship between the location indicated by the location information and the location name that is the name of the location that includes the location and that is the location name of two or more locations that are in an inclusive relationship is obtained. The map information display according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the hierarchical structure information is generated so that a region name including a number of pieces of point information smaller than a certain upper threshold value becomes a root node. apparatus. The display unit displays a list of area names included in the hierarchical structure information,
The hierarchical structure information generation unit generates hierarchical structure information in which the area names included in the hierarchical structure information are sorted by the number of pieces of point information included in the areas corresponding to the area names. Any one of the map information display apparatuses described. The display unit displays a list of area names included in the hierarchical structure information,
The point information includes date information that is information indicating the date,
The hierarchical structure information generation unit generates hierarchical structure information in which the spot information included in the hierarchical structure information is sorted by date information included in the spot information. Map information display device. A map information storage unit that stores map information that is information about the map, a point information storage unit that stores two or more pieces of point information that is information indicating points included in the map information, a hierarchical structure information generation unit, A map information display method processed using a display unit and a selection receiving unit,
The display unit displaying the map information;
The hierarchical structure information generation unit obtains a relationship between a point indicated by the point information and a region name that is a name of a region including the point, and summarizes the region name so that the point indicated by the point information is a leaf. Information of a hierarchical structure in which the region name of the region including the point indicated by the point information is a node other than a leaf node (this node is referred to as an “upper node”), and the inclusion relation between the point and the region A hierarchical structure information generation step for generating hierarchical structure information that is hierarchical structure information shown;
The display unit displays a region name corresponding to a node included in the hierarchical structure information generated in the hierarchical structure information generation step;
A selection receiving step in which the selection receiving unit receives a selection of the region name displayed in the region name displaying step;
A map information display method comprising: a point information display step in which the display unit displays point information for the area name received in the selection receiving step in the hierarchical structure information. Computer
Point information stored in a point information storage unit that stores two or more pieces of point information that is information indicating points included in the map information stored in the map information storage unit that stores map information that is information about the map By acquiring the relationship between the point indicated by and the region name that is the name of the region including the point, and collecting the region name, the point indicated by the point information is a leaf node, and the point indicated by the point information is The hierarchical structure information is a hierarchical structure information whose area name is a node other than a leaf node (this node is referred to as “higher node”), and is a hierarchical structure information indicating an inclusion relation between a point and the area. Hierarchical structure information generation unit to generate,
A display unit that displays the map information and displays area names or point information corresponding to nodes included in the hierarchical structure information generated by the hierarchical structure information generation unit;
Function as a selection receiving unit that receives selection of the area name displayed by the display unit;
The display unit
In the hierarchical structure information, a program that also displays information of child nodes corresponding to a region name for which the selection receiving unit has received a selection.